George N. M.

Most of the slave states that did not secede (Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, and Delaware) abolished slavery on their own before the adoption of the 14th Amendment. They saw which way the wind was blowing and although initially the Civil War was mainly about reuniting the Union it gradually became a federal war aim to abolish slavery. Techically, the Emancipation Proclamation only freed those slaves which were in areas controlled by the Confederacy as of January 1, 1863. Legally, it did not affect the states that did not secede or those areas of the Confederate States which were under Union control as of that date. In actual practice, slavery pretty much became a dead letter any where Union Armies had control at that time, e.g. much of Tennessee, southern Louisiana, coastal enclaves along the Atlantic coast, and parts of northern Virginia. As the Union GNM

Almost certainly slag. The vesicles (bubbles), the shiney black surface, and the sharp edges on the face nearest the camera indicate a high silica (glassy) slag. Slag was used for a lot of things including fill for canal and railroad embankments but often only when transportation costs made it cheap because it was inferior to natural rock or gravel. It was lower quality because it was more brittle in use and would break up more easily than natural rock and was also lighter in weight which meant the fill could shift more easily. Like Frosty says, it could have just fallen off a wagon. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand." Because Maryland was not in rebellion slavery in that state was unaffected by the Emancipation Proclamation. Slavery in Maryland was abolished by a new state Constitution effective November 1, 1864. Surprisingly enough Delaware was also a slave state in the 1860s. Maryland had 87,189 slaves in the 1860 census, about 12.6% of the total population. Here is a link that gives the breakdown by county: http://slavery.msa.maryland.gov/html/research/census1860.html Interestingly enough, the Black population of Maryland in 2020 was about the same percentage as slaves in 1860. GNM

Clinker is an independent variable from other characteristics of coals because it is a function of how much outside sediment was deposited in the coal swamp along with the plant debris. You can have a very low BTU value brown coal (one step above peat) or lignite which has little clinker and you can have a very dirty (clinkery) anthracite. Agglomeration (coking) is a different variable which depends on the geologic history of the coal after it was deposited. Coals often get mined because of one particular quality being desirable for a particular usage. For example, the western sub-bituminous coals which are mined in large quantities in Wyoming and Montana, mostly for use in power plants, is known as EPA (Environmental Protection Act) coal because it is low sulphur coal. It is lower in BTU contenet than the bituminous coals of the mid-continent or Appalachia but the low sulphur content means that it can be burned without using expensive scrubbers to remove the S02 from the exhaust gases. This needs to be done to minimize acid rain down wind from the power plant. So, millions of tons of coal is mined in the Western US and shipped to power plants in places like Texas or Iowa even though there are closer coal deposits because it makes compliance with the EPA cheaper. So, there is no "true coal." Everything is a trade off of different variables. There are good coals for blacksmithing (harder to find these days) which have a good balance of heat value, coking ability, low impurities (clinker), and, of course, reasonable price. Most of us have to settle for what we can find in our area and can afford. There are occurences of natural coke. There is a place in Western Colorado where a coal bed is cross cut by a later igneous dike. Of course, close to the hot igneous magma the coal is burnt up but there is a zone further out where the heat baked the coal and formed natural coke. I don't think it is mined any longer but was in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. And, yes, you can see my old geologist background showing through. I once almost worked for Peabody Coal. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Definite improvement. It can be surprising how much some finish work can improve a project. one suggestion: For the next iteration I suggest drawing out the ends of the X and turning them up 90 degrees to avoid the possibility of a pot sliding off the edge. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Nice score. There are probably internet tutorials on how to use the other scales rather than just the C and D scales (multiplication). The trick is keeping the decimal point straight. G

Another good quote and applicable to blacksmithing is one which has been attributed to Hippocrates (5th-4th century BC), Geoffery Chaucer (1382, and used on a fireplace by Gustav Stickley (early 20th century): "The lyf so short, the craft so long to lerne." (using Chaucer's language). "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Did you draw it out by hand or did you use a power/treadle hammer. I agree with Frosty that a sharper point and smoother sides would improve its performance. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Since the video was recorded at about 1.5 speed (at least the forging portion) all the audio sounded like chipmunks. Do you have any details on where and when this was recorded? GNM

I think this is going on in either India or Pakistan. I'm impressed at how accurately they were able to forge it down, apparently by eye. These guys have done this before, at least once or twice :-). I suspect that watching this video would give an OSHA inspector the colly wobbles. I was impressed by the coordination of the boss/master smith in the brown garment and the crew. Everyone knew exactly what to do and what everyone else was doing. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

This has become a major issue with transporting nuclear waste. Statistically, there are fewer accidents per ton/mile on railroads but because of how cities and towns developed around the railroads most main lines go through population centers while it is often possible to bypass towns and cities when transporting by truck, at least in the interstates. When we lived in Ft. Morgan, CO we were a short block and a half from the Burlinton Northern-Santa Fe main line and if something bad had happened it would have affected us before any evacuation order could be gotten out. Here in Laramie we are 3+ miles from the Union Pacific main line. GNM

Since the clinker is primarily impurities from the coal and largely composed of silicates which are the result of sand and silt (mud) washing into the coal swamps there will be little iron in it. Just the bit of scale it picks up in the forge. So, about all you would get is more slag to pour off the bloom with little gain in the amount of iron. BTW, I expect that the bloom will be pretty much iron rather than forgable steel. I expect that you will have to work it down into wrought iron. The scale is pretty much iron oxides which will approximate iron ore. So, the process will be very close to getting metal from ore. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

A hasp is a latch or loop for a padlock which holds or locks the door shut. A hinge is just the pivot which allows a door or gate to swing. One goes on the pivoting side of the door and one goes on the side which closes against the frame. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand"

Welcome aboard from 7500' in SE Wyoming. Glad to have you. I second what Frosty said about putting your general location in your profile. This is a world wide forum and we don't know if you are in Lapland, Tasmania, or Kansas. About the only think I can tell you about your anvil is that it appears to be marked with the English system of hundred weights, quarter hundred weights, and pounds. A hundred weight is 112 pounds. So, your anvil originally weighed 3/4 of a hundredweight or 84 pounds. The current 60 pounds plus the missing weight of the horn and other bits makes 60# sound about right. Still usable though and a decent price for what you have. Other anvil nerds may be able to give you more information. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Jerry, I think the purpose of deraillers is damage mitigation. I believe they are placed in locations where derailling a car, usually at low speed, would cause less damage than letting it run on, likely into something more valuable e.g. a building or a work crew and equipment. I have generally seen them is switching yards and similar locations where if they are encountered they would probably just lift the leading truck of a car off the tracks. They serve the same pupose as jersey barriers for highway work crews. G

Years ago Martha and I were living in Riverton, WY and working as geologists. She had an apartment downtown above one of the stores. the back of her apartment let out onto a flat roof with a walkway to stairs down to the alley. There was a bat roost in the attic above her apartment. In the dusk we would sit on the roof and throw bits of hamburger into the air to feed the bats which would catch them on the fly. If you threw a pebble in the air they would stoop on it but veer off a half foot or so away when they realized it was hard and not food. Pleasant diversion on a summer evening, sitting in the dusk with a glass of wine while feeding the bats. Very Addams Family. GNM

Cool. Can we have a close up of the Queen, please, if you have one. Thx. G

We got about 60% totality. Weak sunlight. Like someone else my autodarkening welding hood did not function but the old, acoustic dark lens one worked just fine. Saw the 2017 eclipse which crossed Wyoming and the darkness at totality was deep twilight, not full on dark. We were on the summit of the Laramie Range and could look out into the Powder River Basin and see the area which was still lit up. Pretty cool. G

Welcome aboard from 7500 feet (2285 m) in SE Wyoming. Glad to have you. My first suggestion is to see if there is a blacksmithing association or organization in South Africa. I suspect there probably is. Once you have found them join and attend their meetings and events. You will learn a lot. If you can find a smith to mentor you, great, that is the best way to learn. But if you can't find someone to teach you it is possible to learn by yourself. In fact, it is easier now than it was years ago because of videos and the internet. Many of us, myself included, are self taught. When I started in 1978 all I had were some books from the library and my own mistakes as guides. Today, there are some very good videos available on You Tube. I like Black Bear Forge, JPL Services (our own Jennifer), Torbjorn Ahman from Sweden, and Christ Centered Ironworks. Some folk like Alec Steele's videos but I find his presentation style to be kind of annoying. Be aware that there are some BAD videos out there, bad to the point of being dangerous. Also, I don't know how rural or urban you are but if it were me and I could get out into the countryside I would consider trying to find a more "primitive" smith in a rural area and paying him for instruction. I'm sure the Rand you would pay him for teaching you would probably equal or exceed what he would earn in a day of regular smithing. Even, if there was a language barrier much of teaching blacksmithing is non-verbal and is watch and follow the visual example. Good luck and let us know how we can help and how it is going. As Frosty says, you can start with very basic tools and then upgrade later. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

How about if you are hand forging harpoons (razors are the best material per Capt. Ahab), flensing irons, etc.? I doubt there is much market in Ohio but you can ship (pun intended). G

NS, grey and cloudy sounds about par for the course for much of the year in the PNW. Is Coupeville in the rain shadow of the Olympics like Port Townsend? Here, it was partly cloudy for the eclipse and about 40 degrees. Supposed to get into the 60s later in the week. G

I watch AR, partiucularly the UK version, on Britbox. IIRC, you can also find episodes of bothe the US and UK versions on You Tube. G

I don't think the story said that she sold the patch, etc.. Antique Roadshow gives you a value, no more, no less. Then you can decide to keep it, sell it, increase or decrease your insurance coverage, etc.. In fact, it is an ethical violation/conflict of interest for an appraiser to offer to purchase an item they have valued. Many folk, probably John's friend included, say that it will never be sold but kept in the family. Occasionally, there is a follow up about someone who sells something for a life changing amount of money. One thing that is interesting when watching both the American and British versions of the show is the difference in reactions when the owner is told that an item is worth a large and unexpected amount of money. The British are often sterotypically phlegmatic and say, "Oh, that's nice." Americans are often more histrionic and stagger back stunned. It isn't always that way but you do tend to see a lower key response amongst the Brits.

Even without a horn it looks like a working anvil as long as it passes the test Irondragon mentioned. I'd still buy it and use it. G

John, all I got was a message saying the video was private. Do you have any search terms to try to find it through You Tube's search function? G

There has been a LOT of marvelous smithing work done on hornless anvils over the last couple of millenia. A horn is nice to have for certain things but is not necessary for a lot of work. Assuming the face and edges were in good shape and it passed a rebound test I'd buy it very quickly. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."